Set up!
by xbekkarocksx
Summary: Lily and James are perfect for each other...or so Sirius thinks anyway. He plots to get them together...with hilarious consequences. Who knows what will happen?
1. A Plan Is Formed

"I don't know, Sirius

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or anything and that makes me depressed. Very depressed.**

"I don't know, Sirius. It's …it's mean!" Lupin protested, sitting up on his bed. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh come on, Remus, don't give me that! Every trick we play is mean! You didn't complain when we set that biting teacup on Snape!" Sirius wheedled. He was sitting in the bed next to Lupin, giving him an eager smile. Many girls would have fainted if Sirius had smiled at them like that.

"But what if they don't get along? What if they hate each other?" Lupin argued.

"They won't!" Sirius said, dismissing the idea with a casual wave of his hand. "C'mon, they're perfect for each other. Peter agrees, don't you Peter?"

A small fat boy looked up from his book.

"Don't you, Peter?" Sirius repeated firmly, giving him a sharp look.

"I …uh, yeah, of course." Peter said weakly and hastily returned to his reading.

"See? Everyone agrees. Oh, come on, I can't do this without you, Remus!" Sirius begged.

"Now that's a lie!" Lupin laughed. "You're the best at magic and relationships in the whole year! But I'll do it. On one condition. If James asks …"

"If I ask what?" James asked curiously, shutting the door behind him. He was slightly muddy and clutched a broom in one hand.

"Uh…nothing!" Lupin said, a little too quickly. James gave him a suspicious look.

"What are you two up to?" he asked curiously.

"Secrets," Sirius grinned, tapping the side of his nose. "Birthday ones. So how was Quidditch practice? Gonna beat those Ravenclaws?"

"Yeah, 'course," James said breezily. "Hey, stop changing the subject! Come on, Sirius, tell me! You know I hate secrets!" he pleaded.

"It's for your own good." Sirius replied cheekily. When James' back was turned, he gave Lupin a big wink. Lupin sighed. What had he got himself into?

Okay, this chapter was kind of short and kind of crap, but I promise you, it will get better. But I might not be inspired to write unless I get some reviews…

**(In case you didn't get that, that was a hint)**


	2. A Goldfish Bowl and a Prophecy

Answer to MissMarauder4487's question (I love that username by the way), I think this will be kind of a long story unless I ge

Answer to MissMarauder4487's question (I love that username by the way), I think this will be kind of a long story unless I get bored of it. I am going to try and make this as funny as possible. Here goes…

Oh, and BTW, Professor Trelawny has the same name as Harry's teacher because I figured that they would come from a long line of divination teachers.

Plan 1

"How the hell will setting a Skrewt on Lily get them together?" Lupin asked in disbelief.

"Ugh, I've explained this ten times already!" Sirius said exasperatedly. "The Skrewt tries to eat Lily, because that's what Skrewts do. But then James comes along and saves the day. Like her knight in shining armour!"

Lupin could think of a hundred things wrong with this plan. "Yeah, but how do we know James will try and save her?"

"Of course he will!" Sirius said impatiently.

"But what if he doesn't notice?" Lupin said, desperately trying to get his point across.

"Well…I know! We'll get Professor Trelawny to predict it!" Sirius said eagerly. "James believes all that stuff, doesn't he?"

"Yes but how…" Lupin began worriedly.

"Oh, I don't know…we'll get someone to dress up as her." Sirius interrupted impatiently. "You can never see what she looks like under all that floaty fabric stuff anyway."

"Yeah, but who's dumb enough or desperate to volunteer to dress up as a crazy old woman?" Lupin pointed out.

A mischievous grin spread slowly over Sirius' face. Together, he and Lupin turned to look at Peter. Sensing that the room had suddenly turned quiet, Peter looked up. He saw Sirius and Lupin looking at him evilly and gulped. What now?

"Oh, James? I forgot to tell you, Professor Trelawny wanted a word with us at lunch." Lupin said woodenly, checking his script tucked into the fold of his palm.

"At lunch? You mean, like now?" James said, not noticing how weird Lupin was acting.

"Yes. That is correct." Lupin said. "Follow me James."

James raised an eyebrow, but scooped up his stuff and followed anyway. "What d'you think she wants?" he asked. "Maybe she found out about how we faked our fortunes."

Lupin nodded and gulped nervously. "Oh, look. Here we are!" he said as they arrived at the Gryffindor common room.

"Why is she in here?" James asked, utterly confused. "She never leaves that tower of hers, why would she come to our common room?"

Lupin shrugged and decided to improvise. "She said that…her tower was being redecorated and she had to temporarily move out."

"But magical redecorating only takes half an hour." James pointed out, growing more and more curious by the minute.

"Yes, well. She said that she wanted it done by hand the Muggle way or else… or else the spiritual…vibes would be disturbed." Lupin lied, proud of himself for coming up with the kind of thing Professor Trelawny would say.

James nodded knowingly, privately thinking that Lupin had gone mad and hoping it wasn't contagious. "Dumplings." Lupin said (the password), and they entered the room.

Sirius and Remus had done a good job of redecorating the common room. They had had to get everyone out first, but that was easy. All the girls had happily done what Sirius had wanted, with much swooning on the way. Sirius had lured the boys into their dorms with the promise of a feast (they had nicked some stuff from the kitchens). Then Sirius (he was the best at magic) had conjured some purple drapes for the windows and borrowed a bottle of misty perfume from a fifth-year to spray all round the common room. The effect made the Gryffindor common room seem like a paradise for fortune-tellers. And the best part was the figure in the middle of the room, sitting at a low table covered in purple cloth. Hopefully James wouldn't notice that Professor Trelawny was rather shorter and fatter than normal.

"Come in, come in." said Peter. Lupin tried not to laugh. Peter was trying to make his voice sound mystical and feminine and the result was…hilarious. Professor Trelawny sounded squeaky and slightly constipated.

"Ah, James. I have a premonition for you!" Peter announced grandly. "Sit." He gestured towards a low stool on the opposite side of the round table. His sleeves were long and covered his pudgy hands.

James took a seat. He didn't seem at all suspicious now. They had done a good job. Peter kept his head bowed down at the floor.

"Now…" Peter began. He waved his hands mystically over what he thought was the crystal ball. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking at his hands and he knocked over a vase that had been balanced on the edge of the table.

Lupin winced as the vase smashed. Peter paused nervously, then pulled himself together.

"That was destined to happen. There was nothing I could do to prevent it. Now… look deep into the crystal ball." Peter continued.

"You mean this upturned glass bowl with cloudy stuff in. Doesn't this belong to Peter's pet fish?" James guessed (correctly. The cloudy stuff was a clever charm by Sirius).

Lupin winced again. This wasn't going well. But he had not accounted for Peter's amazing acting-as-a-woman talents.

"How dare you insult the crystal ball of…Power? Goldfish bowl indeed (!)" Peter said haughtily.

"Sorry…hey, no one said it was a goldfish!" James said, observantly.

"Well, I am the divination teacher!" Peter pointed out. "Anyway, I was trying to predict. Look deep into the crystal ball and you will see a…a foul monster and a beautiful girl."

James raised an eyebrow. He could see nothing of the sort, but this wasn't unusual for a divination lesson.

"I predict that you will save this girl and she will be eternally grateful and you two will go out together!" Peter finished triumphantly.

"Weird prediction." James remarked.

"Go now! Be gone!" Peter said, accompanied with more waving of his hands which resulted in the smashing of the goldfish bowl.

James left hastily.


	3. A Skrewt On The Loose

A Skrewt on the LooseA Skrewt on the Loose

"Right, now class," began Professor Berkins. "We shall be continuing our work on Skrewts. You will each have to feed your own Skrewt…"

James nudged Sirius. "D'you think that Skrewts count as horrible monsters?"

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You know, the prophecy I told you about!" James prompted.

"Oh! Yes, very probably." Sirius said wisely.

James frowned and studied the classroom. Who was the 'beautiful girl'? His gaze fell on Lily Evans. She was the cutest girl in the year, for sure. But she was one of those bookish types – she'd never go for someone like him, James, and the prophecy had said…mind you, the idea was growing on him.

When they were busy slipping meat into the Skrewt's cages, James kept sneaking glances at Lily, to make sure her Skrewt wasn't nibbling her fingers. Next to him, Sirius was preparing to start the next stage of the plan. He secretly pointed his wand at the padlock on Lily's Skrewt's cage and muttered "Alohomora. It clicked open and the cage door swung ajar.

Then everything went wrong all at once. Lily went to fetch more meat for her Skrewt. The Skrewt escaped and advanced on the nearest target – Lily's ugly friend Amy. James had had his wand ready to save Lily but he was so shocked at the Skrewt's choice of target that he remained frozen. Sirius was watching the scene with interest, his elbow resting on the cage bars, when he discovered that his Skrewt was eating the elbow of his cloak. He yelled. Amy screamed. Lily looked round to see what was happening and screamed. James finally burst into life but Severus had beaten him to it and the Skrewt lay Stunned. It was chaos.

"STOP!" Professor Berkins bellowed. "What has happened her?"

Amy pointed a trembling fat finger at the unconscious Skrewt and fainted. The Professor marched over and picked up the unconscious Skrewt and thrust it back into its cage.

"Who is responsible for this?" he demanded. There was silence.

"James is the only one with his wand out." Lily accused.

Professor Berkins smirked. This was conclusive proof. Everyone believed Lily Evans. She was a model student and James Potter was a troublemaker.

"Well James? Why is your wand out?"

James paused. His mind was still wondering if Professor Trelawny was delusional. Amy… beautiful? He realised with a jolt what he was being accused of.

"I…I was trying to stop the Skrewt." James answered honestly. He didn't think Professor Berkins needed to know the details.

Professor Berkins gave James a long, searching look. He almost looked disappointed. "Very well then."

/

After the lesson, Lily Evans approached James.

"I know you did it." She hissed. "You think you're so clever – well it's not very clever to try and kill people, is it? I Severus hadn't intervened, who knows what might've happened?"

And she marched off haughtily, leaving James staring after her in amazement.

Sirius turned to Lupin. "Time for plan B."

Lupin groaned.


	4. The Jolly Postman

I have noticed that this story isn't as funny as it is in my head

**I have noticed that this story isn't as funny as it is in my head. Sorry about that.**

The Jolly Postman

"Well, go on then! What's the big idea?" Lupin asked impatiently. Sirius had been bursting to tell his new plan but James had been hanging around all day. Now he was at Quidditch practice.

"Voila!" Sirius announced, pulling out a piece of perfumed parchment from his sock drawer.

"Bit early for Valentines, isn't it?" Lupin remarked, taking the parchment cautiously.

"It's a love letter. From James to Lily." Sirius explained. "Go on, read it!"

Lupin cleared his throat and read: "To Lily, the most beautiful girl in all the world. From the very moment I first laid eyes on you…No. You can't expect me to read this crap, Sirius!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's not crap. Girls love that sort of thing; trust me. So then Lily gets this letter and you tell James that…that Lily fancies the pants off of him."

"Wait a second. You said 'you'. I'm not telling James that! You tell him!" Lupin protested.

"No! I'm not doing it and Peter seems to be hiding from us. Please?" Sirius pleaded.

"Uh…I have chess club that day." Lupin said.

"I haven't even told you what day we were going to do it!" Sirius accused reproachfully.

"No." Lupin said, and there was a finality in his tone that stopped Sirius from answering back.

/

Their chance came to give the letter to Lily a week later, when James was missing History of Magic for a Quidditch photo-shoot.

"No, I think you conveniently forgot to mention that one of us tells James and the other gives the letter to Lily!" Lupin snapped.

"Oops." Sirius grinned innocently. "Now, hurry up. They're coming! Use Wingardium Leviosa if you're that bothered."

Lupin grimaced and pointed his wand at the offending parchment. "Windargium Leviosa!" he whispered, and the letter hovered into the air. It flew towards Lily's desk and landed just as she approached.

Her head whipped round and she glared suspiciously at Lupin (Sirius had run off), before picking up the letter and reading it.

Sirius returned to Lupin's side. "Now all we have to do is watch and wait!"

They watched. And waited.

Lily looked up from her letter. She stalked over to a Ravenclaw boy called Jack Fishworth and spoke sharply to him. Then she ripped up the letter and stalked back to her seat.

Lupin was utterly confused. He turned to Sirius, who was banging his head on the table.

"What went wrong?" Lupin asked.

Sirius paused in his banging. "I just signed the card 'J'." he admitted. "I thought it was obvious."

Lupin rolled his eyes.

/

Later that evening, Lupin was sitting crossed-legged on his bed, reading. James was in the loo. Sirius bit his finger thoughtfully.

"Lupin, I've realised that this isn't working." Sirius said slowly.

"Oh finally!" Lupin cried, thinking that the whole idea was over.

"We're going to have to join forces." Sirius continued.

Lupin drooped. "With who?" he asked sadly.

"Lily's friends. Holly, Kendra and Amy." Sirius said, as if it was obvious.

Lupin groaned.


	5. Mistletoe and pointless questions

Fanx to all who have reviewed

**Fanx to all who have reviewed.**

Holly and Kendra agreed immediately to join the grand plan to get Lily and James together (though whether they were acting in Lily's best interests or just wanted to spend more time around Sirius…Lupin had his suspicions). However, they assured the boys that it would be a bad idea to get Amy in on the plan, as she was a rubbish liar and would surely give away the plan.

So that was how Sirius, Lupin, Holly and Kendra came to be sitting in the common room near the fire, watching the snow fall outside.

"Are you sure James and Lily won't be back soon?" Holly asked worriedly. She was beginning to get on Sirius' nerves with her constant negative worries.

"I'm sure!" Sirius assured her. "Look, James has a detention and Lily is up in the library. She told you she'd be up there for ages, right?" He directed this last comment at Kendra, who nodded eagerly and flipped her fringe out of her face, peering at Sirius from under her long eyelashes.

Sirius was oblivious to this act of blatant flirting. Lupin supposed he must be used to it by now.

"So, what's the plan?" Sirius asked. He was really enjoying this whole Lily-James idea.

Kendra shrugged. "Something romantic." she suggested.

Sirius chewed his lip thoughtfully. "How about…lock them in a classroom together?"

Kendra fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh, what a great idea!" she simpered.

"No!" Holly interrupted. "It needs to be more romantic than that!"

Sirius looked disappointed and thought again. "Okay, this is the one. We lock them in a classroom together which is decorated with little pink hearts."

Amy rolled her eyes and even Kendra raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

Sirius looked from one to the other. "What was wrong with that? I'd like to see you do better!"

"Fine then." Amy snapped. Lupin had been keeping out of this so far, and watching the whole thing with interest.

Amy looked out the window for inspiration. It must have worked, for she suddenly snapped her fingers together and cried "Mistletoe!"

"Bless you." Sirius quipped.

"No, dumb-arse!" Amy insulted. Sirius looked taken aback. He had never met a girl who insulted him before. Even Lily Evans didn't directly yell at him.

"You know what mistletoe is for, right?" Amy asked, deciding to start from the basics and build up the explanation.

"Uh…no." Sirius admitted.

"Really?" Amy asked in disbelief. "Maybe it's just a Muggle thing…Anyway, mistletoe is like this plant thing. And it's traditional that whenever two people stand under some mistletoe, then they have to kiss." She left them to work this out.

There was the sound of whirring cogs whilst Sirius' brain tried to process this information. Finally, he said "What if two guys happen to walk under some mistletoe? What happens then?"

"Sirius!" Lupin cried. "Just…don't think that, okay?"

Sirius shrugged innocently and resumed his thought process. "So how do you get to be under mistletoe anyway? Don't plants grow on the ground?"

**30 minutes later**

Holly had gradually sunk further and further to the floor as Sirius asked more and more unbelievably pointless questions. She was now almost lying down with her head propped against a chair.

"Do you get it yet?" she asked. Honestly, someone had said that Sirius was smart. Erm…no.

"I think so." Sirius replied slowly. "So let me get this straight, you're going to make it so that Lily and James are standing under some mistletoe together?"

"Yes." Holly replied. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

"But how?" Sirius asked again. _Really_, he thought, _it isn't natural for brains to be doing this much understanding on a Sunday afternoon._

Kendra giggled, but only weakly. Her girlish laughs had become more and more drained as the afternoon wore on. She couldn't even be bothered to flirt much more.

Amy finally collapsed to the floor. "I-can't-be-bothered. Get Remus to explain."

Lupin looked aghast, but began to explain again. "Us two tell James that we have a surprise for him. So we cover his eyes and take him to the arranged spot where the girls have hung some mistletoe from the ceiling. Meanwhile, the girls tell Lily the same thing and take her to the same place. So they are both there together. Do-you- understand?"

Sirius grinned. "Of course. Why didn't you put it like that before?"

Everyone groaned and then stood up to leave.

"So, Christmas Eve, yeah?" Holly clarified.

"I can't wait." Kendra said sweetly, with a last glance at Sirius before turning to leave.

"This just might work." Sirius said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. Lupin privately disagreed, but was smart enough not to say anything. "Good plan of mine." Sirius added cheekily.


	6. Another Plan Goes Wrong

Fanx to a reviewer (you know who you are), I have realised that in the last chapter I kept writing Amy instead of Holly

Fanx to a reviewer (you know who you are), I have realised that in the last chapter I kept writing Amy instead of Holly. Soz.

"Why do I have to do it?" Lupin grumbled.

"Because you're a prefect." Sirius explained. "You'll have the perfect opportunity! People expect prefects to hang Christmas decorations!"

"Okay." Lupin agreed. "But if anyone sees me, you're dead. Mistletoe in Hogwarts…" Lupin sighed.

"Sure." Sirius agreed. He took a blank piece of parchment out from his pocket. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The marauder's map revealed itself. "No one's coming." Sirius assured Lupin.

Lupin looked around anyway, and eventually conjured some mistletoe. He levitated it up to the banner high on the wall and hung it there. "Done." he said triumphantly.

Just at that moment, three first-year girls came walking down the corridor. They pointed and grinned at all the decorations. "Hey, mistletoe!" One of them pointed to where Lupin had placed the mistletoe. The boys hurriedly took a step away from it.

Then another group, this time of second-year girls, came down the corridor. Again, one of them pointed out the mistletoe. "Hey, I didn't see any mistletoe last year." she commented. "Yeah, they should do that every year." Another girl agreed.

(At this moment, a tradition was born. There is now mistletoe every year at Hogwarts. That's how Harry and Cho get together in Order of the Phoenix.)

"Well. That was a success." Sirius remarked.

/

Holly and Kendra burst into the Gryffindor common room. They didn't have to look far to find the marauders, who were surrounded by a gang of admirers (mostly girls).

"Excuse me, coming through." Holly said, pushing her way through the crowd and pulling Kendra along with her.

Sirius smiled when he saw them. "Hey Kendra! And Helen! Uh, I mean, Holly."

"You know them?" James said curiously.

"Yeah." Sirius said breezily.

"James, we need to speak to Sirius and Lupin. In private." Holly explained.

James looked surprised. "Remus, too? Both of them?"

Holly nodded.

"I …well …" James looked taken aback. "What do you need to talk to them about?"

"Does it matter?" Holly asked impatiently. "Right, go away."

James looked offended now. "Fine then." He sniffed, and walked off, taking his Snitch with him, tossing it from hand to hand.

"What happened?" Lupin asked.

"The plan's not going to work." Holly explained. "Lily's going home for Christmas. She leaves tomorrow."

"Oh, well." Lupin said; trying to sound disappointed. "I guess that's it then."

"We'll do it tonight, instead." Sirius said.

"But it's two weeks until Christmas!" Holly protested.

"So?" Sirius asked.

"For once, Sirius has had a good idea. We can always try it." Lupin suggested. Sirius looked pleased with himself, until he realised what Lupin had said. "Hey!"

"Fine." Holly sighed. "Be there at eight."

"Bye, Sirius!" Kendra called over her shoulder, as the two girls left.

James ran over. "Oooh, Sirius!"

Lupin winced. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah!" James replied. "Well, the last bit. The bit where Sirius got invited on a date. Funny, I thought Kendra was more your type …"

"WHAT?" Sirius spluttered. "HOLLY? I …we're not …OW!" Lupin had stamped on Sirius's foot.

"Yes, they are going out." Lupin interrupted firmly. "Sirius and Holly, tonight at eight. But …um, Sirius wants to introduce you to one of her friends. You're coming too."

Sirius rubbed his foot, but he was impressed. Lupin was getting good at lying. That creative story had sounded almost realistic!

"Who?" James asked promptly.

"Um …she didn't say." Lupin said. "Right, come on. Divination homework."

/

"What if it's Amy?" James asked in horror.

Lupin gulped. James had been guessing names the whole afternoon. He was getting closer and closer to Lily's name. He checked his watch for the fourteenth time. 7:56.

"You'd better go." Lupin told Sirius and James.

"Don't want to be early." Sirius said.

"It'll take ages to get there." Lupin said. "Go on."

"Are you coming?" Sirius asked Lupin.

"No!" Lupin protested. "No, I'll stay and …keep Peter company. It's not my date!"

Sirius shrugged and her and James stepped out of the common room.

"Where are we meeting?" James asked.

"Um …just along here." Sirius said, hoping he wouldn't get lost. They turned left and, thankfully, saw Lily, Holly and Kendra standing there. James halted in his path.

"There's three of them." He noticed.

"Very observant of you." Sirius replied sarcastically. "Now come ON!"

James obediently trotted along after Sirius. He subconsciously ruffled his hair.

"What's he doing here?" Lily asked in disgust, when she saw James.

"We'll leave you two to it." Holly said quickly, and when James looked round, he saw that Holly, Kendra and Sirius had gone. For one of the first times in his life, James felt his confidence leave him.

"Uh …hi. Do you know what's going on here?" James asked, baffled.

Lily scowled at him. "Oh, like you don't know. This was all your idea, wasn't it? You… you perv!" And she slapped him, hard, across the face.

James stood there in the middle of the corridor, mouth wide open, cheek stinging.

**This chapter wasn't funny, because it's an inbetweeny chapter. I have good ideas for the next chapter! Don't give up on me!**


	7. Kendra Feels Ignored

Okay, this chapter should be good Okay, this chapter should be good. I hope …

"You should have seen his face!" Sirius cried with laughter. "I know he's my best mate but …oh, it was so funny!"

Holly looked cross. "Yes, all right, but we ought to be getting on with the next plan."

"Hey, we could try Sirius's plan. Where we lock them in a room together." Kendra suggested. Everyone ignored her.

"How about …we write a love letter?" Holly suggested.

"Tried that already." Lupin reminded her. There was a pause whilst everyone thought.

"We could try Sirius's plan." Kendra repeated. All was silent apart from Sirius's laughter.

"We could …get them a detention together." Holly said.

"Uh …no." Lupin said quickly. "Too much could go wrong."

"We could try Sirius's plan." Kendra suggested for the third time.

"I've got it!" Holly cried. "We'll have to resort to Sirius's plan. Where we lock them in a room together!"

Kendra smacked her head on the table.

"Sorry, Kendra, did you say something?" Holly asked.

Kendra shook her head in despair. "No, it's nothing."

"So …Sirius's plan it is!" Holly said.

Sirius sat bolt upright, immediately serious again. "No way! Rubbish idea!" he cried.

"It was your idea in the first place!" Lupin pointed out in exasperation.

"Yeah, but Lily slapped James last night, and, although it was pretty funny, I am not about to stand back and let my best mate get turned into a human punch-bag by locking them in a classroom together!" Sirius said seriously.

Holly laughed. "What if we give him protection? Like …a helmet and knee-pads?"

Kendra giggled at this image which had sprung into her head.

"It's not funny!" Sirius protested, hurt.

"Sorry." Holly said, trying to sober up. "Um …well, I'm sure Lily would run out of steam eventually!"

This set Kendra off into another fit of giggles. She buried her face in a cushion from the sofa.

"Oh, come on, Sirius! It might take a while, but I'm sure it'll work eventually." Holly said.

"But …" Sirius began.

"No buts." Holly interrupted firmly. More giggles erupted from the sofa-cushion. "Right, the plan is going ahead. When Lily gets back from the Christmas holidays."

Lupin shrugged helplessly and Sirius merely scowled.

"See you then!" Holly said. "Come on, Kendra." Holly tried to drag Kendra from the pillow. Kendra screamed with laughter as she stumbled over to the girls' dorms.

"Who's screaming?" James asked. He had just appeared. "Is someone in danger?"

"Only you." Lupin replied fretfully, realising that they had just doomed James to an hour of torture. Lupin just hoped he survived.

Meanwhile, James was trying to puzzle out what Lupin had just said. "Huh?"

**Did that turn out okay? Tell me! Review! Reviews make me happy. Lalalala!**


	8. Bats Are Cool

Ok, this chapter is our friends sending owls to each other

**Ok, this chapter is our friends sending owls to each other. I just felt like it.**

_Prongs,_

_3 DAYS UNTIL XMAS!! Whoo! i am working on getting Moony to crack and tell me what he's got me. D'you reckon Peter remembered that it's xmas this year? It was so funni last year. How d'you fancy slipping into Hogsmeade next weekend and getting supplies from Honeyduckes to last us over the hols?_

_From_

_Padfoot_

_Padfoot,_

_Ok, let me get this straight. You sent an owl from Hogwarts to …Hogwarts. I knew you were dumb but this is going a bit far, Paddy! Reckon u are right about Peter. Can't wait. Would love 2 go to Hogsmeade bt it is full moon this weekend, remember? We'll go on Friday instead._

_From_

_Prongs_

_Padfoot,_

_What is going on with all these owls flying around our common room? How did I know it had something to do with you? I wonder. I am a prefect and I can take away house points, remember. You really should be doing your DADA homework._

_From_

_Moony_

_Moony,_

_Well, you can't talk, Mr Goody Goody Prefect. You sent an owl to me to stop me sending owls. Duh! And like you would ever take off house points from YOUR OWN HOUSE? Anyway, I have ages before DADA homework is due in. XMAS IN 3 DAYS!_

_From,_

_Padfoot_

_Moony,_

_Wanna come and play Quidditch with me and Padfoot now? You know you want to! Even prefects need a break. Oh, and do you know why Wormtail is standing on his head and turning slowly blue in the corner? Oh, that was funny! He tried to wave at me and fell over. Tee hee. OW! All this writing is giving me writer's cramp. I'm not used to it._

_From,_

_Prongs_

_Prongs,_

_Wormy says that you and Paddy were having a conversation about how bats were cool earlier on, so he decided to act like a bat. God help us. And you know I hate Quidditch._

_From_

_Moony_

_To Sirius,_

_Okay, my friend says she fancies you and will you go out with her? BTW, we have tried talking to Lily and she says she still doesn't like James._

_From,_

_Holly_

_Holly,_

_Ok. Who is this friend BTW?_

_From_

_Padfoot (Sirius)_

_To Sirius,_

_Um …I wanted Holly to write this but she told me to write it myself. Uh, this is Kendra and I'm the one you said you'd go out with. See you next Hogsmeade trip, yeah? Um, ok._

_From_

_Kendra_

_Prongs,_

_Whooo! I got a date with Kendra. In your face._

_From,_

_Padfoot_

_Padfoot,_

_Good for you._

_From,_

_Prongs_

_To Potter,_

_WHY HAVE YOU BEEN BRIBING MY FRIENDS TO SAY GOOD STUFF ABOUT YOU TO ME?? JUST GIVE UP! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE REALLY LIKE._

_From,_

_Lily Evans_

_Padfoot,_

_Ooh, hate mail! Lily has funky handwriting, huh? What is going on though? With all this stuff. You know, the escaped Skrewt, the slap yesterday. Do you know something I don't?_

_From,_

_Prongs_

_Prongs,_

_Um, hate mail isn't a good thing. And no, I don't know anything. Well, I do know some stuff. But not about that. Oh, you know what I mean._

_From,_

_Padfoot_

_To James,_

_Oh yeah, I think I should warn you that Lily was threatening to send you a letter. And not a love letter. More …hateful._

_From,_

_Holly_

_Holly,_

_Bit late, thanks._

_From,_

_Prongs_

_Padfoot & Prongs,_

_Am taking Peter to the medical room. Too much blood rushed to his head when he was upside-down. See you in a sec._

_From,_

_Moony_

_Prongs,_

_STILL 3 DAYS UNTIL XMAS!!_

_From,_

_Padfoot_

**Okay, this was random. Oh, well. REVIEW!!**


	9. Exploding Sarcasm

"Back to lessons

"Back to lessons." Peter said. "Yippee!"

Sirius and James gave him a Look. "What?!" Sirius yelped. "Work. Is. Not. A. Good. Thing."

"I …I was being sarcastic." Peter said sheepishly.

Sirius and James gave him a searching Look (they had been practising Looks). "No, I think he's serious, mate." James said after a long pause. "Boy, you really can't do sarcasm, Peter."

Peter looked ashamed, but Sirius had other worries.

"James, how will I bear it?" he wailed. "We have seven more weeks before the next holidays. SEVEN! That's …that's …FORTY-NINE DAYS!"

Lupin grinned. "Here we go again. You'll survive, Sirius."

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?" Sirius moaned. "FOURTY-NINE!" He sank slowly to the floor, wailing and banging his fists and feet on the floor.

"I know mate, it's tough." James said sympathetically, patting Sirius on the shoulder. "But I know what will cheer you up! We haven't seen Snivellus in days."

Sirius sat up a little, sniffing. "I s'pose." he said grudgingly.

"There we go." said James soothingly. "Now. Remus, Peter. Remus, you owe me the rights to copy one of your essays, and Peter, you owe me a bar of chocolate from Honeydukes. Luxury, mind."

Remus scowled and Peter looked a little gloomy. Sirius just looked confused. "What? Why?" he asked.

"Oh, Sirius, don't tell me you don't remember? The annual bet on how long it will take you to get depressed about lessons." James explained. "Peter bet lunchtime, Remus bet halfway through Potions, first period, and I bet in the morning, when we reminded you that there was lessons today."

Sirius nodded, remembering.

"Well, come on then." Lupin said. "Breakfast."

The four marauders walked down to the Great Hall, Sirius mumbling about how early it was. They arrived and sat down at their usual seats. A couple of girls fought their way over to sit next to Sirius. He grinned. "I see everyone's back from over Christmas!"

James shook his head despairingly. "Right, how are we going to get one over on Snivellus?"

"You can't do anything." Lupin pointed out. "Not until Potions is over anyway. You won't get away with anything with Professor Slughorn, and you can't catch Sev …Snivellus before lessons. He's already finished."

Sirius looked over his shoulder to where Snape was getting up from his seat. "I can't wait until after Potions!" he cried. "I'll have nothing to get me through the first lesson of the year!"

"We'll do it in Potions." James said confidently.

"But …" Lupin began.

"Have faith!" James assured him. "We are the best pranksters in the school. We'll get away with it."

Sirius looked remarkably more cheerful after this statement.

/

"Stage one." James whispered to Sirius. Sirius rubbed his hands together gleefully. James walked over to the Potions cupboard and rummaged about until he found what he was looking for. He took the flask of purple liquid back over to Sirius, who looked at it curiously.

"One drop of this will make Snivellus' potion explode." James explained.

"Can I do it?" Sirius begged.

"Hey, I thought of the idea!" James protested.

"Please?" Sirius asked. James ruffled his hair.

"Fine. You do it. But I'm doing the next one!" James replied. Sirius took the bottle and unscrewed the stopper. Then he sauntered over to the table next to Severus and started chatting to a pretty Gryffindor girl. His eyes kept flicking over to Severus' table and when James called "Severus!" across the classroom and Snape turned round, Sirius tipped the flask over Severus' cauldron.

A drop spilled into the cauldron and began to fizz. Sirius withdrew his arm and walked back to his bench, leaving the girl standing, confused. Snape turned back to his potion and looked in alarm at the black colour it had now turned.

In the back row, James, Sirius and Lupin braced themselves for the explosion.

BOOM!

Severus stood, blinking. His face was blackened and his hair singed. His eyebrows were completely burnt off. Professor Slughorn hurried over.

"Gracious!" he cried. "What on earth have you done?"

James and Sirius snorted with laughter and stuffed their fists in their mouths. Lupin tried to stay serious but the corner of his lips twitched at the sight of Snape.

"Hey, at least that will have dried up his spots." James commented, sending Sirius into another fit of laughter. "All that grease …tut, tut."

Professor Slughorn led Snape from the room saying, "Now, pop down to the medical room."

James and Sirius exchanged disappointed looks. The fun was over for today. Or maybe it wasn't …

Lily Evans stormed over to James. "I know you were behind this and you won't get away with it!" she hissed.

James Potter had met his match.

**Soon I might think of jumping ahead a bit, because we all know Lily and James don't get together until 7****th**** year. Hope you liked this chapter!**


	10. The Voice In My Head Makes An Appearance

I have edited the last chapter because I updated it before it was finished

**I have edited the last chapter because I updated it before it was finished. Sorry.**

With OWLs drawing ever closer, Sirius abandoned the attempts to get James and Lily together. He spent whole minutes revising and looking through his textbooks, and there was no time for planning (after all, guys can't multi-task).

Before they knew it, the OWLs were upon them.

"Test me!" Lupin begged, thrusting his textbook at James. James shook his head and looked back down at his own History of Magic book, scratching his head in confusion.

"I swear we never learnt about "how healing has developed through the ages"!" he protested.

"We did." Lupin reminded him. "You just weren't listening."

James groaned and looked over at where Sirius was revising. He walked over and began to read over his shoulder.

"Hang on a minute ..." he said suspiciously, and removed the cover-jacket of Sirius' book. Underneath was a comic book.

"I knew it!" James crowed triumphantly. "If we have to revise, you do too."

Sirius gave James a pleading look. Then Lupin's alarm rang.

"Saved by the bell!" he grinned, and jumped up. "Come on, time to go!"

Lupin followed the stream of fifth-years out of the room, his nose still buried in his book.

/

The History of Magic exam did not go well for Sirius. Nor did Potions, Charms, Transfiguration ...well, the list went on and on. But soon the exams were over and everyone was happy again.

The End.

Little voice in my brain: "Wait a second, you haven't got Lily and James together yet!"

Me: "Huh?"

Little voice: "You can't end the story hear, you dumb-brain."

Me: "But it's the end of term for them."

Little voice: "Well, skip ahead to next year."

Me: "Oh yeah. I didn't think of that."

Little voice: "Duh! Please review, readers. We will skip ahead next chapter. Thanks!"


	11. Owls, Fireworks and Peter's Shoelaces

"JAMES

"JAMES!" Sirius called. "OI! OVER HERE!"

James spun round. "Hey! Sirius!" he cried. "How are you, mate?"

"Um …let's just say that holidays at my place really suck. But I got my OWLs results!" Sirius said, changing the subject.

"Yeah?" James asked. He wasn't hopeful for his best mate.

"Ten OWLs! I ROCK!" Sirius grinned triumphantly. James shook his head in bafflement.

"How the hell do you do it?" he wondered aloud.

"Well, what did you get?" Sirius asked.

"Nine." James admitted. "And I only did a bit more revision than you."

Sirius nodded. "You can partly rock. Now, where's Remus? Not like him to be the last one here."

James shrugged. "Oh, there's Peter." He pointed. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Why d'you like him so much?" he asked, bewildered.

"He's a cool guy." James said, trying to keep a straight face. "And he's easily impressed."

Sirius snorted. "Thought that was something to do with it. Oh, there's Moony! REMUS!"

Lupin looked round at where Sirius was waving his arm in the air. He rolled his eyes but smiled and walked over.

"Hey, Sirius. James." He greeted.

"Good to see you." James said. "What did you get for OWLs?"

"Ten." Lupin admitted. "Let me guess, Sirius got loads even though he didn't revise?"

Sirius nodded solemly. "That's me!"

"Damn, I got the least." James scowled. "This happens every year. So unfair."

"Yeah, well you two have both grown more than me." Lupin grumbled, looking up at the two. "So that's not fair, either."

"Well, I know what will make both of you feel better." Sirius said. "Peter? Over here, mate!"

Peter looked surprised and walked over. He seemed even shorter than he had been before the holidays. Lupin grinned down at him.

"How many OWLs did you get?" Sirius asked him, giving James a grin.

"Five." Peter admitted. James had to stifle a laugh.

"You're right." He told Sirius. "That made me feel a whole lot better."

"Well, what can I say? I'm a miracle-worker!" Sirius boasted.

James wasn't listening. He had just seen Lily walk past and realised that she was actually pretty cute. How had he never noticed before?

"Hello? Earth to James?" Sirius called from what seemed like far away. James blinked and realised that Sirius was waving his hand in front of James' face.

"Huh?" he asked, still dazed by his newfound discovery.

Sirius was giving James a suspicious look, but before he could accuse him of anything, he was distracted by Peter tripping on his shoelaces and falling on Sirius, who in turn grabbed Lupin's sleeve in an attempt to save himself, pulling Lupin down too and tripping James. Then a first-year who wasn't looking where she was going tripped on the pile of Marauders with her friends whom she was arm-in arm with.

Their owl's cages sprung open as they fell and the owls flew round and round the station, swooping and soaring. Sirius' trunk burst open when a first-year landed on it and fireworks shot everywhere. People screamed and ducked for cover as the fireworks shot red and blue sparks everywhere. The owls screeched and dodged the fireworks, crashing into trunks and children alike.

Ten minutes later, order had returned to the platform. James and Sirius disentangled themselves from the pile of bodies, both feeling a little squashed.

"I might have known that you'd be behind this." A girl's voice snapped at the Marauders. Sirius didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Oh, go away, Lily!" he groaned, brushing down his robes.

Lily looked haughtily offended.

"Leave her alone, Sirius." James said, with a wave of his hand, not looking away from Lily for a second.

Lily looked surprised. "I …well … thank you, Potter." She left.

"Potter!" Sirius sniggered. "She calls you Potter!"

"Hey, don't diss Evans." James warned him. Sirius tried (and failed) not to laugh at his friend's incredibly serious expression.

The voice in the back of my head would just like to say that it takes absolutely NO credit for the part where everyone falls over. That was my own crazy invention.

Shit, I'm really cracking up, aren't I?


	12. The Truth Is Hurtful

"You like Lily Evans, don't you

"You like Lily Evans, don't you?" Sirius asked abruptly one evening.

"So what if I do?" James asked haughtily. "You fancy half the year."

"Let's not go there." Lupin said hastily.

"I wasn't having a go." Sirius said, offended that he had been so wrongly misunderstood. "I meant …well, we can help you!"

"Since when have I needed your help?" James asked. "I can do fine by myself."

"Yeah, but two heads are better than one." Sirius quoted. "And besides, we have experience."

"Experience of what?" James asked in confusion.

"Getting you together with Lily Evans." Sirius replied promptly, without a trace of embarrassment. James gaped with his mouth wide open.

"What the fuck??" he asked in amazement. Whatever answer he had been expecting, it wasn't that. Slowly, understanding dawned on him. "Is that what the whole mistletoe thing was about?" James asked.

"Yep!" Sirius said proudly. "And the Skrewt thing and the …"

"The Skrewt thing?" James asked, not knowing whether this was true or a wind-up. "You mean when the thing ran wild in class …and did you do the prophecy as well?"

"Sure." Sirius said, with a proud grin. James was turning more and more red. He was a shade of blotchy pink at the moment. Lupin was surreptitiously trying to edge out of the room.

"So …that wasn't Professor Trelawny?" James asked in disbelief.

"No, that was Peter." Sirius said casually. Lupin wondered how on earth he didn't realise that James wasn't happy.

"P …PETER??" James yelled in absolute shock. "I THOUGHT PETER WAS PROFESSOR TRELAWNY??"

"I guess so." Sirius said, still completely calm.

"Ok, let me get this straight." James said, taking deep breaths. "You set a Skrewt on Amy?"

"Well, it was supposed to be Lily." Sirius admitted.

"And then you set me and Lily up with mistletoe?" James continued, almost hyperventilating.

"Yes." Sirius replied. "That turned out pretty funny."

James was now a shade of deep scarlet. "And you did all this …why?"

Sirius ignored his question. "You missed out the love letter." He pointed out.

"Oh god …" James groaned. "A love letter?"

"Yeah, but that didn't turn out too well." Sirius said thoughtfully.

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" James asked sarcastically. "WHAT ON EARTH POSSESSED YOU TO INTERFERE IN MY LOVE LIFE??"

Now Sirius began to realise that all was not going well. He looked a little scared of his purple-in-the-face best mate.

"DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" James bellowed. "YOU HAVE RUINED MY CHANCES OF EVER GETTING TOGETHER WITH LILY EVANS!"

Only Sirius could have interrupted James now. And he did. "Oh, don't be ridiculous!" he scoffed. "We did you a favour!"

"FUNNY KIND OF FAVOUR!" James roared back. "I SUPPOSE THIS WAS ALL YOUR STUPID IDEA?"

"Well, um, yes." Sirius said, not looking as proud of that fact as he had been. "But Lupin helped!" he added quickly. "And Holly, and Kendra, and …and Peter."

James' face darkened. "OH RIGHT, SO EVERYONE KNEW EXCEPT ME? OH, THAT'S JUST GREAT! SUPER! FAB!"

Sirius looked alarmed at James' hysterical exclamations.

"LUPIN, GET HERE NOW!" James yelled. There was no way that Lupin could not have heard that, but he took a long while to come. He cowered when he saw James' expression.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GIVE HIM PERMISSION?" James cried, before Lupin had a chance to defend himself.

"You try standing up to Sirius when he's had one of his ideas." Lupin retorted bravely.

James stood staring at Lupin for a while, his chest heaving as he breathed deeply. Then he turned away.

"FINE!" he yelled. "FINE!" And with that, James stormed from the room.

"How come he blames me?" Sirius asked, sounding put out.

Lupin rolled his eyes. "It would be unfair to yell at a girl, Peter's not smart enough or brave enough to realise the consequences of what he does, and IT WAS YOUR FAULT!"

Sirius stuck out his bottom lip and crossed his arms sulkily. "Fine then. You blame me as well." He said childishly. Lupin rolled his eyes and walked off.

As he entered the common room, he felt a chill emanating from James' bed, with the closed curtains. Lupin shivered. James and Sirius would not be talking for a long time to come.


	13. But Not For Long

"I still can't believe you got Peter to dress as Madam Trelawny

"I still can't believe you got Peter to dress as Madam Trelawny." James chuckled. "Who knew Peter could act?"

Sirius took a mock bow. Lupin shook his head in exasperation. Only yesterday, James had been saying that he never wanted to speak to Sirius again. Today they were back to normal, well, normal for them. But Lupin should have known that you could never separate Sirius and James for long.

"…but in future, leave it all to me." James concluded. Sirius nodded, but he wasn't really listening. He already had his next plan formed …

"Sirius." James said in a warning tone of voice.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently. "Oh, look at the time! Me and Lupin need the loo now, don't we?"

Sirius got to his feet and dragged a protesting Lupin along with him. But before they could reach the portrait hall, they found their way blocked by James.

"How thick do you think I am?" James asked, trying to remain serious.

Sirius decided not to answer this honestly. Luckily, it was a rhetorical question …

… **wouldn't Ms Renganathan be proud of me now?! …**

… and Sirius was spared having to lie. "Now, I've got Quidditch practice." James continued. "But DON'T try anything whilst I'm gone. Got that, Padfoot?"

"Sure." Sirius said airily. He waited for James to disappear out of sight. "Ok." He began, turning to Lupin. "Here's the plan. We lure Lily and James into a classroom and lock …"

"Already thought of that." Lupin said. "It keeps coming back to this and we always find something wrong with it. Besides, you saw how James reacted when he found out what you were up to!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "He got over it, didn't he?"

"Well …yes …" Lupin admitted.

"So what's the problem. No, wait …I've got a better idea …we get Lily and James a detention together …" Sirius said thoughtfully.

"Ok, ok, we'll go for the first plan!" Lupin said desperately.

"I'm glad we understand each other." Sirius grinned. "Right, I think we'll need the girls for this one …"

/

"No way." Holly said firmly.

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "You didn't mind before!"

"Lily found out and now she's not talking to us." Holly explained.

"How?" Lupin asked.

"She overheard your argument with James. Well, it was kind of hard not to hear it." Holly added.

"Ah." Sirius said. "Oh well, if this plan works, then she'll forgive you again."

"And if it doesn't?" Holly prompted.

Sirius pretended not to hear. "So, when do we start?" he asked. Holly groaned.


	14. Shocked Apoligies

This happens meanwhile to last chapter

**This happens meanwhile to last chapter. So, James is doing this on the way back from Quidditch whilst Sirius is persuading Holly and Kendra to join them. Geddit? Good, cos I don't and somebody has to.**

"James?" a voice called. James paused and turned. He wasn't expecting his mum to be there. That was ok, because she wasn't. But he DEFINITELY wasn't expecting Lily to be there. Talking to HIM.

"Um. Hi." James said, at a loss for words. "Look, I …" he began. Lily said the same thing at the same time. They burst out laughing.

"Ok, you go first." James said generously.

Lily grinned. "Look, I just wanted to say sorry." She said.

"Sorry?" James repeated. "To …to me?"

"Well, yes." Lily said, looking a little confused. "Look, I overheard your …conversation, with Sirius yesterday. And I'm so sorry because I realised I've been a total cow to you and it was really unfair because none of it was your fault and …"

"Woah, slow down." James said carefully. He had never heard anyone say so many words without breathing before.

"Sorry." Lily said, blushing a little. "I always do that. But I just wanted to say sorry."

"Well, I wanted to say sorry too." James said.

"What do you have to say sorry for?" Lily asked disbelievingly.

"Well, Sirius is my mate …" James began.

"Yeah, but Holly and Kendra are mine." Lily pointed out.

"Well, it was Sirius' idea and I should have realised what he was up to." James admitted. "And it totally wasn't your fault for yelling at me. I would have done the same …if I was a girl." James added.

Lily laughed.

"Wait, that didn't sound like how I wanted it to sound." James said hastily, thinking Lily was laughing AT him.

"Oh, I totally get that sometimes." Lily agreed. "Well, I'll see you around then!"

Lily walked off, leaving James looking after her. "Damn." He said to himself. "I thought that was going somewhere."


	15. Well You Werent Expecting That

Ok, so I just felt like updating 3 chapters at once

**Ok, so I just felt like updating 3 chapters at once. What's so wrong with that?**

"Ok, so the plan is going ahead." Sirius clarified.

"What plan?" Kendra asked.

"The one we discussed on Tuesday." Sirius reminded her. "Three days ago."

"Oh yeah." Kendra said dimly.

"So, we'll go and find Lily and get her to the Transfiguration classroom, and you go and get James." Holly instructed. "All teams are go!"

"Hey that's my line!" Sirius complained, as the group separated.

"Where is James?" Lupin asked. "Not like him to be missing. There isn't Quidditch practice, is there?"

Sirius thought for a while, his lips moving silently. "Nope." He said.

"Weird …" Lupin said. "Hey Peter, you seen James?"

Peter looked alarmed and shook his head quickly. Sirius rolled his eyes. "And what was the point of that?" he asked Lupin. "Peter knows nothing."

Lupin shrugged.

MEANWHILE …

"No, she's not here either." Kendra said, peering behind another bookcase. Holly sighed.

"We'd better go and tell the boys." She said. "They'll probably be at the classroom by now."

MEANWHILE …

"He's not anywhere." Lupin said in confusion.

"Well, we'd better go and tell the girls." Sirius said. "They'll probably be at the classroom by now."

Sirius and Lupin stepped out of the portrait hole and began walking the way they went to get to their Transfiguration class. On the way, they came to a point where three corridors met. Holly and Kendra were walking down one and they met Sirius and Lupin at the junction bit.

"Hi." Kendra said.

"Hi." Sirius replied.

"Where's James?" Holly asked.

"Where's Lily?" Lupin asked.

None of them noticed that they were still walking towards the transfiguration classroom.

"We couldn't find her." Kendra explained, whilst Sirius explained that "We couldn't find him."

Lupin and Holly came to an abrupt stop and Sirius and Kendra crashed right into them.

"What?" Sirius asked crossly.

"Let's just say we found them." Lupin said, in a strange voice.

Lily and James were standing in the corridor outside the Transfiguration classroom. Kissing.

The End! I'm sorry. But there's still a chance for reviews, and if you haven't already, read one of my other fics:

"**Traitor!"**

**and**

"**Family Trees"**

**Thanks! Bye!**


	16. That Wasnt A Compliment EPILOGUE

Epilogue For Set Up

**Epilogue For Set Up !!**

**Ok, I haven't written this story for a while …well, ages, so this epilogue might not really fit. But oh well, I feel like it.**

It was Christmas Eve. The living room was full of warm, flickering light from the fire in the grate and the candles on the window sill.

The curtains were open, so that the people inside the house could look out upon the beautiful snow-covered houses and the stars which showed brightly in the clear night sky.

Inside, a single stocking hung over the fireplace, empty for now. Hundreds of assorted picture frames full of laughing, waving people were cluttered on the fireplace, along with a few ornaments – china cats, and long-since broken clocks; that sort of thing.

The room wasn't particularly tidy, but it was definitely a Home. It had a cosy, family feel about it – exactly the look that Lily and James had been looking for when they had bought the house.

"Oh, do you remember when Peter dressed up as Professor Trelawny?" James laughed.

"What!?" Lily cried with laughter, causing the black cat on her lap to jump off and stalk out of the room.

"Sorry, I forgot …of course, you weren't there were you?" James said. "Yeah, that was before Sirius had his crazy plan."

"Couldn't have been _that_ crazy, could it?" Lily pointed out. "It worked, after all. Now where has that cat gone?"

"I suppose," James grinned. "Hey, who would have thought it? Class prankster and class boffin get together …classic."

"Boffin!" Lily spluttered. "Excuse me?"

"Well, nerd, geek, whatever you prefer," James teased.

Lily threw a sofa cushion at James …and missed.

"Oh, admit it, you were," James laughed.

"I was not!" Lily protested, still laughing. "Just because I'm clever doesn't mean that I'm a nerd!"

"Sure(!)" James said slowly, with a big fake wink. "But just between you and us …"

"James!" Lily shrieked, getting to her feet. "You are soo dead …hey, get back here!"

James, sensibly, had run as soon as he saw Lily coming towards him. He ducked under a line of washing (which had been moved indoors after the snowing) and into the kitchen.

"Shame, dead end!" Lily grinned triumphantly, a little out of breath.

"I take it back!" James protested weakly.

Luckily, James was saved by a crying noise from upstairs. Harry was awake.

"Ooh, you are so lucky, young man," Lily said.

"Not even one year old and already he's getting his dad out of trouble," James joked. "He's gonna be a right little trouble-maker that one."

"If he is I'll blame it on your side of the family," Lily threatened from half way up the stairs. "Or on Sirius. You two are a bad influence!"

"Thanks," James called upstairs, taking it as a compliment.

"That was an insult, Potter!" Lily yelled.

"Hah, you can't call me Potter now," James pointed out. "You're Potter too."

The crying stopped. James smiled and walked back into the living room where the fire was threatening to go out – the spell was wearing off. Walking over to renew it, James' eye was caught by a picture of him, Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Lily. He remembered it had been taken a few weeks after he and Lily had gotten together.

"Thanks mate," James whispered to the picture. "I owe you one."


End file.
